95 K2500 starter issues?

[reington7]

Hello,
I've got a 1995 K2500 with an electrical issue. From a cold start, the truck cranks and starts fine. After driving for 10 minutes or longer (warmed up), if I shut the truck off and try to restart it, it cranks very, very slowly to the point it sounds like the battery is dying (new battery). If I hit the key fast a couple of times it will eventually start right back up. What's going on here? Thanks.

7

[edman87]

replace the starter. I had same problem on a smallblock before. the starter / solenoid is overheating from engine heat . The starter mounted solenoid makes for a clean package, but has its downfalls. I changed the battery 3 times and alt twice before I figured it out!

[piecesparts]

I took my factory (Large) starter out of my truck and mounted a Powermaster gear reduction High Torque starter on it. The change in size and the ease of connecting the wiring, made it work better and last longer.

[Mr_Rich]

I second that opinion. I've got over 204K miles on my truck now and a Powermaster starter would be the way to go. I can't remember if that's the brand I have or not. That starter has been in there so long I've forgotten. They're expensive, but worth the money. Easier to install, long lasting, and worth the money. They do have specific bolts that work with that starter. That's about the only detail to pay attention to.

[hvychve]

It does sound like a bad starter, but I wouldnt just throw one at it, I would have the current checked, if you dont have access to a vat-40 or 45 ( electrical system tester), I would bet ya your auto parts store would have one, (the whole purpose of them having one , is to sell you parts) it just hooks around your battery cable with an inductive probe also with pos. and neg. hooked up and while its warm you can crank and monitor your amp draw, start worrying around 250 amps or higher, keep in mind also , bad connections either positive cable and or negative, can also cause this , but would be all the time and not just hot, the reason why it happens (common) hot, is the bushings are worn in the starter and the armeture is too close to the stator, causing it to do what its doing, make sure you have a good strong 12volts at solenoid wire when you are cranking it.
you could voltage drop both your battery cables, but it sounds like you know what to do..... let us know what you come up with..... oh yeah the ignition switches on these are very weak too , but they usually cause other issues.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by hvychve

It does sound like a bad starter, but I wouldnt just throw one at it, I would have the current checked, if you dont have access to a vat-40 or 45 ( electrical system tester), I would bet ya your auto parts store would have one, (the whole purpose of them having one , is to sell you parts) it just hooks around your battery cable with an inductive probe also with pos. and neg. hooked up and while its warm you can crank and monitor your amp draw, start worrying around 250 amps or higher, keep in mind also , bad connections either positive cable and or negative, can also cause this , but would be all the time and not just hot, the reason why it happens (common) hot, is the bushings are worn in the starter and the armeture is too close to the stator, causing it to do what its doing, make sure you have a good strong 12volts at solenoid wire when you are cranking it.
you could voltage drop both your battery cables, but it sounds like you know what to do..... let us know what you come up with..... oh yeah the ignition switches on these are very weak too , but they usually cause other issues.

If nothing else (On a cold day) and you are layng under the truck trying to check everything. Change out the cables for new "Heavy Duty" replacements and hang a new starter is less time consuming. I measure my troubleshooting by how long I have to do things in the cold. Now; if it is warm and the wife is doing wifey things, the troubleshooting is a good thing to get into. I have enoguh spare parts and starters around to swap out, if I have to do it in a hurry.



REMEMBER: to ensure the new starter is spaced properly to the flexplate or flywheel gear.